The Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez (center) is assisted off the field by trainers after suffering an injury while running to third base on Friday in San Francisco BEN MARGOT, AP

SAN FRANCISCO – Asked how long he expected to be without shortstop Hanley Ramirez, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly resorted to an obscure medical term.

"A while," he said, a disconsolate note in his voice. "I hope that puts it in the right category for you."

A medical miracle did not happen overnight and the Dodgers placed Ramirez on the DL with a strained left hamstring suffered as he tried to go from first to third base on a single in the sixth inning of Friday's game. Dee Gordon was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque and started at shortstop Saturday.

"I don't know how to put a timetable on these things," Mattingly said of Ramirez's hamstring injury. "You never really know when a guy's ready or not with these things because you can't ever get to the intensity (in workouts) that you need to get to, where you're going to make an explosive movement and ask more of your body (like you would in a game). They seem to take awhile.

"We'd been looking forward to having him in there and he was swinging the bat well. Then to lose him again right away – it's tough."

Ramirez was 5 for 11 in four games since returning from a torn ligament in his right thumb – an injury that also occurred at AT&T Park (during the final game of the World Baseball Classic). Ramirez was able to return from that injury sooner than expected but now faces another frustrating stretch of time out of action.

"Definitely, definitely (frustrating)," Ramirez said. "I was so excited to get back on the field. Then this happened now. But nothing's going to stop me. I'm going to keep working hard. It's going to make me stronger."

When Ramirez injured his thumb in March, the Dodgers quickly dismissed Gordon as an option to replace him, turning to Luis Cruz and Justin Sellers instead. Those two have offered nothing offensively – Sellers is batting .194 and Cruz .098. The choice to promote Gordon is clearly an acknowledgment that they hope to get some kind of offensive contribution from Ramirez's replacement this time.

"We'd like to see what he can do for us," Mattingly said of Gordon. "If he gets on base, he creates runs. We're hoping he can do that."

Gordon will not admit to being stung by the spring decision to go with Sellers and Cruz. But he responded well in Albuquerque, batting .314 with a .397 on-base percentage, 14 steals in 16 attempts and 19 runs scored in 25 games.

"There's a plan for everybody. It wasn't the plan for me to be here then," Gordon said. "I could have gone over there and been a punk about it, moaned about it. I chose to play."

Mattingly praised Gordon for the progress he made in spring training and at Triple-A Albuquerque in "maturing" as a player, specifically in his sense of the strike zone. But the plan to have Gordon spend the entire year in Triple-A developing had to be scrapped, he said.

"If guys were playing better, we wouldn't have to go that way," Mattingly said. "If Cruzer was hitting .300, if Sells was hitting .300 – we probably wouldn't do this. But that's not how the game goes."

Mattingly said Gordon will be the primary shortstop in Ramirez's absence but he is happy with Carl Crawford as the leadoff hitter and won't ask Gordon to step into a role at the top of the lineup. A year ago, Gordon made 62 starts as the Dodgers' leadoff hitter and struggled mightily to get on base.

"I'm ready to play," Gordon said. "I'm here to play. I'm going to play the way I play and play hard. That's it. And hopefully help the Dodgers win games."

GREINKE PROGRESS

Just over three weeks after fracturing his left clavicle, right-hander Zack Greinke threw a 60-pitch bullpen session, using all of his pitches, before Saturday's game. Greinke also had a shorter throwing session Thursday before the team traveled to San Francisco, according to Mattingly.

It is a clear sign that Greinke is ahead of schedule in his recovery. The original prognosis had Greinke missing at least eight weeks but it now appears possible that he could shave as much as two weeks off of that.

"A little bit," Mattingly said when asked if he was surprised to be watching Greinke throw a full bullpen session on the three-week anniversary of the surgery to insert a plate in his clavicle.

Mattingly stood in the batter's box during part of Greinke's throwing session Saturday and a few teammates stood and watched.

"It's along the lines of Hanley (Ramirez's return from his thumb injury). It seemed like he was ahead of schedule, doing a lot of stuff three weeks out. But I don't know how far away he is."

NOTES

Crawford was back in the starting lineup Saturday after missing three games with a hamstring injury. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez was written into the lineup after missing Friday's game with a sore neck but he was scratched after trying to take batting practice. Gonzalez said he is unable to turn his head to track pitches without feeling a sharp pain in his neck. ... Second baseman Mark Ellis missed his seventh game with a quadriceps injury in his right leg. "Monday that is going to have to get resolved," Mattingly said. Unless he is ready to play by Monday, Ellis will likely go on the DL to clear a roster spot for left-hander Chris Capuano (calf strain) who will come off the DL to pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.